Making a Black Mirror at home and divination

Here is a simple method for making a black mirror at home.

Buy a picture frame, complete with the glass.

Pick up some black paint at the craft/hardware shop,
best to use acrylic or oil based paint. Paintbrush

Disassemble the frame and lay the glass on a piece
of newspaper.

Paint the backside of the glass with the black paint and let dry.
(I recommend 2-3 coats.) After it is all dry, if there is any need,
clean the outer part of the glass with winnow cleaner.

Place the painted glass into the picture frame the unpainted glass
side facing outwards. You can glue various magical items to your
black magic picture frame, like herbs, crystals, stones, shells, feathers etc

Use with black candle, slightly tilted for candle Scrying,
especially effective when the Sun is in Scorpio, October.

~ Barbara Morris

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Magick Mirror

Materials:
• A convex piece of glass (like an old clock face or glass bowl)
• A wooden circle that will fit on the bottom of the bowl
• Black enamel paint
• Divination herbs

Directions:
Make sure the glass is clean first. Paint two coats of black enamel paint on the back of the glass, and also paint the wood black, leaving no signs of drips or strokes. Let dry. To prepare for use, take crushed herbs (such as mugwort or any others suggested for divination) and dissolve them in water. Let the herbs steep overnight (covered with a cloth) and then strain them out, and use the infusion to paint over the enamel. Do three coats, allowing to dry in between. Glue the glass onto the wood.

Ritual use:
The magick mirror can be used for divination during a Samhain ritual

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Since the invention of mirrors, this tool has ranked high as an
Object of magical and spiritual power. After all, mirrors allow us to do
Something that no human being can do without assistance-- see our own faces.

From the familiar silvered glass to the mystery of tinted
Decoratives and the subtle murk of polished obsidian, mirrors capture our interest
Just as they were once believed to capture souls. In addition to their rich
History, they remain a popular altar tool today.

The Background of the Mirror

Our ancestors had to content themselves with imperfect reflectors.
Clear mirrors were not portable, and the portable ones were not clear.
People could see themselves in still, dark water. Sometimes a piece of dark
Stone or wood could be rubbed smooth to produce a vague picture. And that was it,
For millennia.

Because people considered the reflection to represent their soul or
Other self, they believed that any injury to it could impact them--hence
The dire predictions of bad luck upon the dropping or breaking of a mirror.

Later, smiths hammered metal into flat sheets. There were more
Reflective as mirrors, but the readily available metal sheets--in brass and
Copper--gave a noticeable tint to the image. Silver gave the truest reflection,
But few could afford that metal. The Bible cites mirrors made from brass,
And papyrus records mention silver ones in Egypt. In the late middle Ages came
A new style of mirror based on tin, and dressed with silver nitrate and
Mercury, which improved image quality a great deal.

The modern mirror, made from clear glass with a very thin silvery
Backing, was invented in Vienna during the late seventeenth century. It
Quickly spread throughout Europe despite its expense. Small mirrors soon became
Favored trade items in far-off lands.

Mirrors and Divinity

Cultures around the world consider the mirror a symbol of feminine
Power, especially divine power. Many goddesses appear with a mirror as
Part of their regalia, and mirrors are popular artifacts for temples, shrines, and
Altars. The round, shimmery surface of a mirror suggests its connection to
The Moon and to the element of water.

For example, the Tibetans represent their goddess Laysa with a
Mirror. Laysa oversees matters of beauty and the Moon. In central Asia, the
Moon is the mirror that reflects everything in the world. Indian mythology
Refers to the great goddess as the "Mirror of the Abyss," who holds the reflection
Of Shiva. In the Egyptian language, the word for "mirror" and "life"
Is one and the same. Also the ankh is sometimes seen as representing a mirror.
The "Mirror of Hathor" appears in temple paintings and statuary as an
Emblem of that goddess.

In Greece, the goddess Venus rules the vagaries of love and beauty.
Her special metal is copper, and copper mirrors adorned her shrines. In
Fact, the familiar circle-and-cross emblem of Venus and femininity is also the
Alchemical symbol for copper. People still use copper mirrors as
The preferred type for love magic, or for divination on Friday, the day ruled by Venus.

The Afro-Caribbean goddess Yemaya is traditionally depicted holding
A mirror as she rides the ocean waves on her twin fishtails. Many mermaid
Legends involve a mirror. Sometimes this merely represents the creature's
Vanity, but more often it embodies her magical power. If a man steals a
Mermaid's' mirror, he can force her to stay with him as his wife--at least
Until she finds her missing artifact and returns to the sea.

Mirror Scrying

The most popular use of a magic mirror is for scrying. Scholars
Refer to this as crystallomancy or catoptromancy, and Romans called skilled
Readers specularii. Techniques include viewing distant scenes in the
Present, gazing into the past or the future, and summoning symbolic visions. Many
Occult shops sell mirrors for this purpose--often expensive ones made from black
Glass, obsidian, or onyx--but you can also make your own. Different types
Suit different objectives. For instance, use a mirror framed on only
Three sides to see over long distances.

Whether made for the purpose or appropriated from a cosmetic
Counter, a mirror should be prepared before magical use. These processes vary
From simple to complex, depending on the source you consult. Most include
Several common elements: washing the mirror in water, exposing it to moonlight, and
Storing it in a bag to protect it. Many Pagans believe that you should
Never allow sunlight to fall on your magic mirror, especially if you use it for
Scrying. Instead, scry at night, or in a darkened room lit by candles.

A scrying mirror may reveal such things as a lover's illicit affair,
Good or bad news from afar, preventable or inevitable misfortune to come,
The history of events or objects, messages from spirits or patron
deities, the face of a future spouse, whether a sick person will live or die, the
veracity of statements made before it, and so forth. The morality or immorality
of the power largely depends on the user's actions.

Other Magical and Spiritual Uses

The mirror is generally regarded as a window or door to other
realms. Most mirrors are flat, but some are concave (good for catching things) or
convex (good for repelling things). Mirror applications include astral
projection, conjuring spirits, viewing past lives, capturing souls, and speaking
with distant persons. Indeed, the realm of the dead is sometimes known
as "the Hall of Mirrors."

Some of these uses suggest the reason behind the custom of covering
any mirrors in a room where someone is ill or has died. That is, this
practice prevents the mirror from trapping the person's soul, or providing a
conduit for other spirits to enter the room. Celtic women were buried with
their personal mirrors, as they believed these objects carried their souls.

Because of their constant association with personal appearance,
mirrors play a role in some love spells. They can enhance beauty and psychic
abilities, but they can also encourage vanity. If you have the strength of
will to face your flaws honestly, however, the mirror can be a powerful tool for
self-improvement.

Another aspect of mirrors is their ability to reflect and turn
things back the way they came--hence their use as protective talismans. One
popular binding involves fastening the photograph of a harasser between two
mirrors placed face-to-face. Another is to put an object symbolic of the problem
into a "mirror box," which is exactly what it sounds like: a box lined
entirely with mirrors. All harm thus reflects back on itself.

The oriental art of feng shui takes these principles to a
sophisticated level, using many types of mirrors and other reflective objects.
These mirrors can attract positive energy, repel or redirect negative energy,
duplicate prodoerity, and compensate for inauspicious features in a room or
building. The eight-sided bagua mirror brings harmony, abundance, and protection.
Its sides embody attributes of marriage, fame, wealth, family, career,
new knowledge, and children.

Conclusions

The magic mirror still holds a place of honor among contemporary
practitioners, and is well worth acquiring. However, mirrors can
prove tricky to handle, so they may be best reserved for intermediate to advanced
practitioners. Novices might find themselves facing more than they know how to deal
with.

The most important warning, of course, is the one that applies to
all types of divination. Don't ask questions you don't want to know the
answer to.

by Elizabeth Barrette
copyright 2004